Friends
of Burundi
To
the
Manager……………………………….......................................………….……
Bank/Building Society
Address …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………….........................Post Code ….........……
Bank
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Please
pay until further notice to the Friends of Burundi the sum of
£….….……………
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/monthly (please delete if inappropriate)
starting on [date] ………….…
(day)/
……….…
(month)/
…..…………
(year)
from Account No.
...............................................................................
name(s)
of account holder(s):
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For Bank's Use Only
Please Pay:
Please print
off this form, complete it
and send it to:
Andrew Maclay, 27 South Road, Chesham Bois, Amersham, Bucks. HP6 5LU
The Friends of
Burundi is the group of mainly British Christians who set up the
Friends of Burundi in 2005 to pray for, support and publicise the
situation of the people in
The Most Revd Bernard Ntahoturi, Archbishop of Burundi and Mrs Jane Williams, wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury kindly agreed to be our patrons.
Burundi is an independent African country,
about the size of Wales, lying at the north end of Lake Tanganyika. It is
landlocked, bordering Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of
Congo. It is densely populated with a population of some eight million.
Historically, it was ruled by a king, with chiefs under him. It was visited by the explorers David Livingstone and H M Stanley. It was annexed by Germany to become part of German East Africa together with Tanganyika. After the First World War it became a League of Nations protectorate under the Belgians - combined as Ruanda-Urundi with the similar-sized country, now called Rwanda, to the north.
Both countries received independence, separately, in 1962. Burundi has suffered many years of inter-ethnic violence which culminated in a civil war. This resulted in millions of refugees fleeing to the neighbouring countries -- Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. Some who fled have spent most of a lifetime in refugee camps.
Please
complete, detach and send to the FoB Hon Treasurer (address below).
I, ……………………………………….....................…...........................................………(Title
& Forenames)
………………………………
……..………….......................…………….……………......................(Surname)
wish
to become a member of the Friends of Burundi
I
subscribe to the aims of the Friends of Burundi and will try to support
these to the best of my ability.
I
enclose £……………… as
my subscription for the current year
(Currently £10.00 per annum)
And
£……………………..…..…
as a donation towards current project
Address............................................................………………………………
…………………………………………………………….………(Post
Code)
Telephone:………………………………………………………………………………………………
E-mail:………………..……………………………………………………………………………
Gift Aid:
if you are a UK taxpayer your gift will be increased if you complete
this form as tax will be repaid
The
FoB will reclaim the tax on all gifts received from members who signed
this declaration.
□ I am a UK taxpayer
□ I would like tax reclaimed on all donations that I make to the
Friends
of Burundi.
□ I will inform the Friends of Burundi if I stop paying UK income
tax
Signature: ……………………………………………………………………………
|
Please
print this form, complete it and send it (with your cheque if not
using Standing Order) to: |
Following a peace accord, there were
democratic elections in 2005. The new president, Peter Nkurunziza, has
committed himself to national unity and the refugees displaced internally
and in neighbouring countries have begun to return. Peace is still
fragile. As a result of the Peace Accord, there has been a massive
resettlement process for the Internally Displaced People and resettlement
of the hundreds of thousands who have returned from refugee camps abroad.
Inevitably, there are conflicts over land rights. Reconciliation
between those who have suffered at each other's hands is vital for future
peace.
Traditionally, Burundi has been a strongly Christian country, with 80 per cent of the population baptised Catholics. However, there are also many Protestant churches arising from the missionary movement and some indigenous independent African churches. For about 30 years from the late 1930s there was a remarkable religious movement which started in the Anglican Church in Rwanda, and became known as the East African Revival, which spread to neighbouring countries, including Burundi, and had an influence worldwide.
Burundi is a mountainous country, intrinsically healthy, and has become very densely populated, to a level that is hard to sustain. Soil erosion and exhaustion of nutrients make farming increasingly hard. The country has few natural resources and is one of the poorest in the world. In recent years, the situation has been aggravated by prolonged droughts and severe flooding, possibly related to global warming.
Like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV and AIDS not only causes immense personal tragedies but effects productivity at both family level and nationally.
Friends
of Burundi seeks to support the Country and its needs in prayer, make its
needs known more widely and help in a small way by assisting those who
seek to alleviate the spiritual physical and emotional needs of the
country. Friends of